In Chicago Heights, It`s Day Of Joy, Sorrow

In this blue-collar south suburb that cherishes its past, friends are an extended family. Friends form alliances in business and politics. Enemies are outsiders who either are powerless or want to take power from your friends.

Former Mayor Charles Panici liked to give friends a helping hand. ``He is dearer to me than a brother,`` said one City Hall employee. ``He gave me a job when I needed one.``

But to the United States government, Panici and former Commissioners John M. Gliottoni Jr. and Louise H. Marshall were all crooks.

Wednesday afternoon, the government announced the indictment of all three for allegedly taking more than $600,000 in bribes from people doing business with the city.

``This is a wonderful, glorious day for the people of Chicago Heights,``

said community activist Ron Harper. ``They were selling out the people of Chicago Heights. They were cutting in a few people and locking out a lot everyone else.``

Harper is one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit seeking to replace the city`s commission form of government. The suit alleges that the city`s at- large system of electing council members leaves the minority population at a disadvantage.

``This is a tragic day,`` said a Chicago Heights attorney who asked not to be identified. ``The whole town is in a state of shock.``

The lawyer, who has lived in the suburb most of his life, said he believes that the influence of mobster Albert Caesar Tocco corrupted those accused of corruption.

``He (Tocco) was like an angel of death who preyed on the city,`` said the lawyer. ``People knew they had to go along-or else.``

A string of charges have been filed against Chicago Heights officials and their cronies in recent years. All came in the wake of a successful prosecution of Tocco for extortion relating to garbage contracts in Chicago Heights. Tocco is serving a 200-year prison term.

Others involved in the scandal have been:

- City Administrator Enrico ``Rick`` Doggett and Director of Economic Development Joseph Christofanelli, who both pleaded guilty to evading taxes on income that federal prosecutors termed bribes. Both still have their city jobs and have been sentenced to do community-service work.

- Former Finance Commissioner Nicholas LoBue and former South Chicago Heights Mayor Donald Prisco, a close friend of Panici, who admitted extorting money from a garbage hauler. LoBue was sentenced to 20 months in prison, Prisco to 30 months.

- Streets and Public Improvements Supt. Ralph Galderio, who pleaded guilty to extortion and was sentenced to 6 months in prison.

- Former Public Works Supt. Ernest Molyneaux, who pleaded guilty to taking more than $36,000 in bribes. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 6 months of work release.

Wednesday`s indictments drew predictable reactions from both friends and enemies.

``Obviously it`s greed,`` said former Commissioner Eugene Sadus, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year. ``It got to the point where they did anything they wanted to at any time. Everybody feared for their jobs. If you didn`t conform, you were ostracized. You were out.``

``Even when I knew about the indictments, I never really wanted to think it would happen,`` said the city worker who owes his livelihood to Panici.

``When you grow up in Chicago Heights, you make friends for life, and once you`re a friend, you stay a friend. They`re still my friends.``

Although many residents were willing to discuss the indictments, few would let their names be used because they feared the long arm of the city`s political machine.

``We`ve been waiting a long time for this,`` said a woman waiting in line at the Chicago Heights post office.

Chicago Heights has had a checkered reputation for generations. Once it was a prosperous manufacturing and commercial hub. But since the Al Capone era, it, along with Calumet City, Burnham and Cicero, was considered as a home to organized crime figures. Politicians and mobsters frequently lived in harmony.

``There was a sense of community, the small-town atmosphere that was the hallmark of Chicago Heights,`` said Dominic Candeloro, author of ``Ethnic Chicago,`` a book about the ethnic life and power in the Chicago area.

Corruption in Chicago Heights` Italian-dominated political machine wasn`t different from the way any ethnic or political group exercised power, Candeloro said. ``This has just been more visible.``

He compared the Chicago Heights indictments to the savings and loan scandal, ``groups doing favors for each other and turning a blind eye to abuses.``

When industry began to dry up in the 1960s, Chicago Heights began losing residents. Its 1990 census figure of 33,072 was down about 4,000 from the 1980 total.

``The current crop of political leaders filled the vacuum,`` Candeloro said. ``For better or worse, they cared about their town.``

Panici was mayor for 16 years. Last year, in the wake of the first federal indictments, he decided not to seek a fifth term, citing health and family reasons.

Panici suffered a mild heart attack last year, and his close friends say he was devastated by the deaths of his wife and brother within the last month. Mayor Douglas Troiani is considered Panici`s handpicked successor. Panici is still the Republican committeeman from Bloom Township and leader of a powerful political organization.